Boumelha was first elected IFJ President in 2007 and has been a member of the body’s executive for more than 20 years. Previously, he has been a longstanding member of the NUJ national executive and chair of its international committee.

He has led a number of campaigns at the IFJ, making the case for better working conditions and raising issues of journalists’ safety with the United Nations. At the NUJ, he led one of the longest strikes in the trade union’s history to secure recognition from Robert Maxwell’s Pergamon Press.

On Wednesday night, as part of the congress, Boumelha led a silent march through Dublin to commemorate the 408 journalists killed in action over the past three years.